At first, I was kind of skeptical about watching Usagi Drop. I read that it touched upon some mature themes and it didn't seem like an anime that I would personally enjoy. I'm glad I gave it a chance though. Only being 11 episodes long, I decided why not give it a try. I wish it was a tad longer though.

THE STORY IS: Daikichi is a 30 year old bachelor who lives by himself and occupies his time by working a lot. Upon receiving a call that his grandfather had passed away, Daikichi packs and heads back to his hometown for the funeral. There, he briefly meets a girl that he, nor anyone else, have ever seen before. Nobody knows who this little 4 year old girl is. We come to find that her name is Rin and she is Daikichi's grandfather's illegitimate love child...little strange, I know. After the funeral is done, the family is trying to decide what to do with Rin. Daikichi is disgusted with some of the ideas being thrown around and, on a whim, decides to take her in and raise her himself. Not having any knowledge or experience as a parent himself, Daikichi sets out to learn and do the best he can.

Like I said before, I was skeptical to watch this show. I'm glad I did. It's a bit of a strange story at first because of Daikichi's grandfather having a 4 year old daughter, who is also technically Daikichi's aunt. It's a little hard to digest, but after you get over that and see how hard Daikichi struggles with trying to balance work and raising a child with no knowledge on what to do, it becomes an endearing story to follow. It's a short anime and I wish it was longer. It's not that it felt incomplete, I would have just loved to see Rin and the other kids she associates with grow up and see how some things turn out more in the future towards adulthood. It's not a story that is heartbreaking, but it has you feel like Daikichi feels. Not having a clue about parenthood, making sacrifices for the better of your child, and debating whether to have Rin meet her mother or not. I never understood what they meant by "exploring some mature themes," but now I do. Definitely a subject that a lot of people wouldn't take a risk on.

THE ANIMATION was honestly very good. It has a very bright and optimistic vibe to it. Definitely went perfect with the theme of the anime without a doubt.

THE SOUND was very good as well. The intro/outro songs were decent, but they more than fit the anime. The voice acting was very spot on with the characters and very well acted.

THE CHARACTERS were definitely a big point of this anime along with the story. The interaction with Daikichi and his family are like a typical family. You see the gradual growth in relationship between Rin and Daikichi. Other parents interact with Daikichi and you see a more parent to parent interaction going on. What I'm saying is, the way all of the characters interact with each other is pretty close to a real life situation. Daikichi is a sort of awkward kind of person who panics because he doesn't know what to do half the time. Rin is very fun and easy going and a typical young girl. Rin's friend Kouki is a typical boy. Kouki and Daikichi get into it a lot because Daikichi sees a lot of himself in Kouki as a young boy. Every character has their own role and has enough face time to get to know them and see what their life is like and the sacrifices they made for their children.

OVERALL I was very surprised with the way Usagi Drop turned out. I was not expecting to like it, but ended up loving it. It's definitely not an anime for everyone. It's not action packed or gory or anything like that. Usagi Drop is a very mellow, coming of age tale that shows the hardships of being a parent and the sacrifices people make for the sake of their children. I'm not a parent myself, which is probably why I was able to relate to Daikichi a bit because I would be exactly like that if I took on that kind of responsibility. Very highly recommended.

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